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Grand Challenge Running Today

As I write this, my compadres from CMU are in front, with Stanford close behind. Constantly updated map of the race is available at the Grand Challenge web site. Actually, it's been 12 years since I worked at the Robotics Institute so I probably don't know a single person on the teams actually running this year's race.

This course has some great twists, like three tunnels to render GPS inoperative and make local sensing more important, narrow roads, cattle guards, and deep sand. The Grand Challenge site has the course layout, webcasts, picture galleries and more.

Correction: it appears that the Stanford team is beating the lead CMU team by 5 minutes according the latest update. Damn their black hearts anyway. First their evil dancing basketball player steals my google rank, now this.

Posted by Mark Saturday, October 08, 2005 11:29:00 AM | permalink | (0) comments

US to Lose Control Over Internet Root Servers?

This will likely be the year when Bush hands over control of the Internet to the UN. It's going to be a very divisive and potentially disrupting change.

The rest of the world has become uncomfortable enough with US control of the Internet that most countries have decided they would rather see the UN oversee key Internet infrastructure than the US. The issue goes to a UN summit next month where it will be decided, undoubtedly not in favor of the US position.

Things have worked well up to this point. There isn't single a good rationale to change what has worked so well. There are many different reasons though, some of them reasonable. Some countries don't like the inability to filter content, or to allow official eavesdropping. Some countries worry about the impact of US-driven unilateral technical changes affecting their infrastructure. Some want a bigger say in decisions that affect them. Some just want more power over others.

My worry is that major disruptions could be coming in the next few years, disruptions that force technical progress to a halt and cause economic troubles. All because the US failed in negotiations. I hope I'm wrong.
Link to many articles

Posted by Mark 11:23:00 AM | permalink | (0) comments

The (Real) Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

I found this to be the most accurate list of seven habits I've ever seen. McSweeney's is the source of all my important lists.

Posted by Mark Monday, October 03, 2005 10:14:00 PM | permalink | (0) comments

Two Weeks of Free Retro-Gaming at GameTap!

Gametap is live right now with a two week free trial of retro-gamey goodness. That's two weeks to enjoy games you probably haven't seen in 20 years, unless you're me, in which case you've seen them a lot more recently. But...their game collection. Is huge. In comparison my set of MAME ROMS is a puny 90 pound weakling getting sand kicked in its face.

But my 90 pound weakling is going to come back after two weeks of working out with Joe Atlas and win because I can't really see spending $14.95 per month on retro games I hardly ever play. Still, stirring memories of the surreal experience of reading 80's newspapers articles on MIRVs and Voodoo Economics by playing Missile Command might be worth the price of a month. We'll see how many bleary-eyed mornings I have with my two week free trial first.
Link

Posted by Mark 9:08:00 PM | permalink | (0) comments